When Weiss Finds Myrtenaster
by Darkpenn
Summary: Or maybe it finds her.


**When Weiss Finds Myrtenaster**

 _Or maybe it finds her._

Weiss Schnee sighed as she looked at the huge table laden with the presents she had received for her fourteenth birthday, the day before. So many pretty dresses and glittering trinkets and ... stuff. She wondered what any of them had to do with her life.

She supposed she should feel thankful, but after the hours of ceremonies of the vast party – not actually a party at all, as parties were (as she understood it) meant to be fun – she really just felt tired. The only good thing about it all was that she had been able to sing.

There was a knock at the door. It opened, and in came Klein. Weiss smiled when she saw him, as she always did.

"Young miss," he said. "I am not sure that this is at all appropriate, but I have brought another present from you. From ... me. I am sorry that it is a day late." He showed her what he had.

It was a bicycle.

Weiss gasped in surprise.

"I thought that you could use it to explore the mansion," said Klein. "I found it in one of the basements. I gave it a clean and ... well, I'm sorry that it isn't new."

Weiss stared at it. It had some dents and scrapes. One of the handlebars was a little bent and there was some rust on the chain.

"I ... I ... I – " she stammered.

"You don't like it?" said Klein, running his hand through his thinning hair.

"I ... I ... I love it!" she cried.

"Do you know how to ride it?" said Klein.

"I learned when I was away at school," she said. "But the ones they had there were nothing like this. They were all shiny. And this one ... this one ... is – "

"Yours," said Klein. "And there is this." He rang the bell. The sound echoed around Weiss' suite of rooms.

"I'm going to start exploring right now!" she said. She wheeled the bike into the hallway and, somewhat uncertainly, got on.

"Then you might want to take this," said Klein. He pulled a pack of sandwiches from his pocket and handed it to her. "It's a large mansion, and you might get hungry."

Weiss wanted to hug him. She almost did ... but then she stopped herself. "Thank you," she said. "Best ... present ... ever."

"May I suggest, young miss," said Klein, "that you head for the library on the third floor of the south-east wing. You might find it interesting. There is some ... old stuff ... there."

Weiss realised that she had never been to the south-east wing of the mansion. But, indeed, there were many parts of the mansion that she had never visited. It was a very big place. A very, very big place.

And then she was off, waving goodbye to Klein, her fatigue forgotten. She passed tapestries and paintings and sculptures and a surprising number of pianos. She pedalled faster, skidding around corners and occasionally banging into things. She rang the bell. She heard an unfamiliar sound, and then realised that it was herself, laughing.

She eventually reached the south-west wing (conveniently marked by a rather old sign). She carried the bike up the massive staircase and set off again. It looked as if no-one ever came here. The place was full of echoes and dust motes swirling in the beams of sunlight from the grimy windows.

She came to a massive wooden door, with a plaque on it, PRIVATE LIBRARY. She dismounted and pushed at the door. It creaked as it opened enough for her to get through.

The room was messy and disorganised, full of books and boxes and odd things. She would never have admitted it to anyone, but she loved it. She sat down on a chair that was losing its stuffing and ate the sandwiches.

There was a sudden noise. A cascade of books fell from a high shelf to the floor, creating a plume of dust. Not just books, a long grey box as well. She wondered what it contained. Probably more trinkets or something equally worthless.

She opened it.

It was a sword, a rapier, shining silver. It gleamed at her, as if it had been waiting patiently for her to come along.

There was a word engraved on the inside of the box. _Myrtenaster_.

She took it out of the case. She had never held a sword, or any type of weapon, before. But it seemed to fit into her hand, as if it was made for her. She swept it through the air; it moved as if it was an extension of her arm.

She looked more closely at the hilt. There was a wheel that turned, and small chambers in it. It looked like they were for ... could it be Dust crystals? She looked in the case, and found six crystals in compartments in the lid. They fitted into the chambers.

She swept the sword around again. It carved a glowing arc through the air. She knew that it was not a toy, not something that you used to play heroes and villains with. It was so much more.

She suddenly thought of the silly presents in her room. She thought of the grand house, and the elaborate clothes, and the life that her father was planning for her.

And then there was ... this.

In a sudden flash, she realised what she wanted to do with her life. What she needed to do. What she would do.

She looked again at the sword. "Myrtenaster," she whispered.

Weiss had found her path.

END


End file.
